Sweden: Siltanews – News Desk
Finland has officially called on Sweden for assistance in its ongoing investigation of the Eastlink incident whereby the tanker Eagle-S damaged the undersea Eastlink power cable connecting Finland and Estonia. Four Telecom cables were also damaged during the incident, three of them connecting Finland with Estonia and the fourth connecting Finland with Germany.
The Swedish Navy dispatched its submarine rescue vessel HMS Belos to assist the Finnish efforts in creating an in-depth situational picture of the damage to the underwater infrastructure in the Gulf of Finland.
On Christmas day, the tanker Eagle-S damaged the Eastlink power cable. Subsequent investigation found that the tanker created a dragging track on the seabed that is several kilometers long. The current investigation is run by the Finnish police though the Finnish Navy is providing assistance to the investigation with the mine countermeasures vessel Vahterpää and the oil spill response vessel Hylkee as well as providing divers.
HMS Belos is strengthening the ongoing investigation as the vessel has the capabilities required for deep diving and work. As such, it complements the current capabilities already in place and allow for a more thorough investigation.
Today (January 7) HMS Belos retrieved the missing anchor from the Eagle S, suspected of being used to intentionally damage subsea power and communications cables in the Gulf of Finland. Finnish authorities have taken possession of the anchor and the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) will begin analyzing it.